Drinking-tube.



J. L. CLARKE. DRINKING TUBE.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 24, 1909.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

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' :rmns moron cnenxn, or nnamneron', ENGLAND.

DRINKING-TUBE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, James LANGIUN CLARKE, a subi'ect of the Kill of.Great Britain and Ire and, residing at o. 25 Clarendon SquareLeamington, in the county of Warwick, ngland, have invented a new orImproved Drinking-Tube, of. which the followmgis a specification.

This invention relates to a new or improved drinking tube-a plicable foruse with receptacles such as fla and bottles, glasses and the like. I 1

The invention consists of a drinking tube adapted to be confined withina bottle and provided with a resilient member adapted to raise it whenthe stopper, ea or cork of the bottle or flask is remove so that thetube will project sufliciently above the mouth of the bottle. to ermitsaid tube to be placed in the mout of the drinker and permit it to .bereplaced or nt back to its normal position in the bott e or flask whenthe stopper, cap, or cork is replaced, whereby the necessity fora cup isobviated, or a medicine glass may be dispensed with, in the case ofmedicine bottles with measurement marks thereon, nor is it necessa totip up or incline the flask or bottle when drinking.-There may berovided more than one drinking tubeto a k or bottle so that severalrsons may drink from the same receptac e without it being necessary foreach tube.

In order toenable this invention to be readily understood reference ismade to the accompanyin drawings in which Figure 1 s ows in sideelevation a medicine bottle having one of the improved tubes.

Figs. 2, 3' and 4 are elevations. of modified forms of tube. "Figs. 5and 6 are similar views of a drinking flask in the open and closedpositions res tively and fitted with another modified' cm of drinkingtube.

Fi 7 afid 8- are views, partly in section an partly in elevation offurther modified forms of tube and Fig. 9 is an elevation of yet anothermodificatlon.

In carrying the invention .into efl'ect as seen in Fig; 1 the drinkingtube a is. suitably made of glass, metal, vulcanite, or other 1 suitablematerial, and an of the tubes shown in the drawings may provided with agroove 1) or rounded nozzle 0 at the upper end-if desired; and in anycase the upper Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 24, 1909. Serial No. 492,049.

person to use the same drinking that the tendenc Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

edge should be rounded orthe sharp edge removed or covered so as not to.cut e -mouth of. the person drinking. The said tube a is of such a l hor is so constructed that it may be contained in the med1cine bottle dor other receptacle when the stopper or cork e of the bottle is insertedor if applied to a. flask when the cap is closed, but so that when thecork, cap, or the like 1s ren1oved or opened, the upper end of thedrlnklng tube a shall project automatically so as to be easily availablefor drinkmg purposes. The means for causing the drmkmg tube to projectabove the top of the mouth of the bott e or flask suitably consists of aspring 7 fastened to the tube. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the spring f isof the blade type-and in Figs. 1 and 3is secured to the tu e a by asingle split ring or clip 9 or by two clips but it is evident that anyother suitable form of s ring may be employed.

This spring 'norma y rests on the bottom of the bottle in a flexedcondition when the cork,

stopper or cap, c is in the closed position, in which case it pressesthe tube a down,- but immediately the cork is removed, the springunflexes and tialusefs thle) tube a to rise bto the osition suita e orein grasped t e 'ps or theteeth of the er, who then sucks up the liquid.

Thespring may be made of metal, vulcanite, rubber, or other suitablematerial, and of various sizes, and if not made in one with the drinkingtube, is suitably fastened "thereto byelhmping, whippmg, or in any otherconvenient manner, and preferably, so that it may be put or slid intoany desired position on the dr' tube, for the purpose principally ofadjusting the length of tube to the size of the bottle, so that the tuberojects sufliciently when the cap or the l' e is removed. This spring 7is conveniently made curved as seen in Figs. -1 and 2 or corrugated asshown in Fig. 3 so of lower end of the drinking tube a sha be to lieagainst one side or near one corner or other of the bottle or flask, soas to steady the tube in the. bottle, and there is an added advantage'inusing a lateral spring for. bottles with hinged ca s,

inasmuch as then the tube, if put into t e- The spring f may be securedto the tube a.

by means of two split rin or collars g, as shown in Fig. 2, instead 0one such 'r1ng or collar for the purpose of preventing the spring frombeing moved out of lme with the tube and for purposes of ad ustment tosuit the length of the bottle. Or the drinkin tube a is provided at itslower end with 'a s 1ort length of india" rubber tubing h Fig.

. bottle.whether the drinking tube be in its raised or depressedcondition,-whereas if a rigid, tube be provided only with a spring, suchas f, Figs. 1, and 2, the said spring raises or tends to raise the lowerend of the tube from the bottom of the flask when the ea or the like isremoved.

' the modification, as applied to a flask, illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6,the tube a is shown to be held down by the closed cap j in Fig. 4 and tobe protruded through the open mouth of the flask by the un-flexlng ofthe rubber tube It in Fig. 6. The lass and india rubber tubes are made 0various lengths to suit bottles and flasks of different heights and tosome extent the effective lengths of the combined tubes may be regulatedby slippinglor working the india rubber tube along t e glass tube, moreor, less. The tube a may. be provided with a small annular notch inFigs. 1, 5 and 7 to facilitate the descent of the tube into the flask inthe case, of a hinged or so-called bayonet joint cap by the insertion ofa finger nail into the sald notch and applying downward pressure in theevent 0 t e tube tending to be jammed by the cap when the latter isbeing opened. If desired and to save india rubber the lower end of thetube It ma be made of lass or other suitable materia so that the indiarubber tube only forms a flexible or elastic connection between the tworigid tubes.

According to another modification seen in Fig. 7 the drinking tube ismade in two parts, the one part ahaving a piston or packing ring I andbeing adapted to slide telescopically within the other part m. A hehcalspring a insures the rising of the upper end of the tube part a abovethe level of the mouth of the flaskwhen the cap or the like is removed.The lower end of the tube part m may be constricted and open as shown orperforated to hold the s ring in place and to enable the liquid to besucked up. Or the helical spring can be replaced as shown in Fig. 8 by atube of rubber 0, connected in any suitable manner to both tubes, a andp, the said rubber tube 0 being adapted to collapse. in the direction ofits axis when ressure is applied to the top of the tube a ut to resumeits normal osltion when such pressure is removed. e bottom of the tubemay be closed and perforated asshown,

or it may be open and serrated or otherwise formed or bent so as toinsure a free assa e of the liquid in whatever position t e tu e may bewhen resting on the bottom of the bottle or other receptacle. Or asshown in Fig. 9 the tube a is provided with a fixed or ad ustable collar9 and a movable skeleton and partially cylindrical frame 1' providedwith two collars s and t adapted to slide on the tube which frame alsohasan extension at which rests on the bottom of the bottle or flask andthe said extension may have a collar 'v. The sprin n is arranged betweenthe collar g and t e collar t of the frame so that when the tube a ispressed downward the spring 01. is compressed and when it is released itcauses the tube to be projected above the mouth of the bottle. It ishowever evident that a drinking tube of this the mouth of the bottle bysaid member I when the bottle closure is removed.

'2. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask provided with a s ring adaptedto be compressed by the cor or closure of the bottle when in the closedosition and to cause the upper end of the tu e to be projected beyondthe mouth of the bottle when the closure is removed, substantially asset forth.

3. A drinking tube for a bottle or a flask provided with a springadapted to be compressed by the cork or closure of the bottle when inthe closed position, and means for adjusting the position of the springrelatively to the tube, substantially as set forth.

4. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask, a movable frame at the lowerend of said tube and a spring tending to force the tube and the frameapart, substantially as set forth.

5. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask, a movable frame at the lowerend of said tube, a spring tending to force the tube and the frame apartand means for adjusting the position of the spring relatively to thetube, substantially as set forth.

6. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask, a skeleton frame adapted toslide on the lower end of said tube, a collar on said tube and a helicalspring surrounding said tube and situated between said collar and a artof the saidframe, substantially as set orth.

7. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask, a skeleton frame adapted toslide on the lower end of said tube, a collar adjustable on said tube,and a helical spring surroundin said tube and situated between the adjustab e collar and apart of the said frame, substantially as set forth.

8. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask, a skeleton frame having twocollars or sleeves adapted to slide on said tube, a collar adjustable onsaid tube and a helical spring surroundin said tube and situated betweenthe adjustable collar and one of the collars on the frame, substantiallyas set forth.

9. A drinking tube for a bottle or flask, a skeleton frame having twocollars or sleeves ada ted to slide on said tube, an extension at t elower end of said skeleton frame, a collar adjustable on said tube and ahelical spring surrounding said tube and situated between the adjustablecollar and one of the collars on the frame, substantially as set forth;j

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES LANGTON CLARKE.

Witnesses:

W. MORLEY, H. D. J AMEsoN.

